If it feels like more of a slot machine’s payouts have been moved to harder to reach spots, you’re not alone:
Why don’t manufacturers make games that give line pays that allows you to have a little entertainment!! It seems that all they do is take the bankroll before a bonus is received.
Debra R.
They’re out there. In fact, many of the older slot machines have this potential. Some newer ones do as well, but slot makers will tell you that players have voted with their wallet chasing slots with higher volatility and bigger bonus potential. That means more slots where bonuses are the priority and focus, and the only way to achieve this is to move money from the line hits.
We have seen specific examples of this over time. Compare Huff N’ Puff to Huff N’ More Puff, which had the same bet increments but reduced line pays to make room for more exciting bonuses.
Clearly that series has performed well given how many follow on games to Huff N’ More Puff have resulted, and that game itself was recently re-introduced with more denominations and a random bonus trigger feature.
But as we shared recently, the lack of shared information around things like a slot’s volatility means it’s somewhat up to us to figure which games are like this, and which offer better line hit potential.
That said, there are things you can review, such as the pay table, and see what the higher paying symbols offer. That alone can’t tell the whole story, but along with other indicators, such as big progressive prizes and the three (or more) pots, can give indications if the focus is elsewhere or not.
But ultimately the more surefire thing to do is to look for games on the older side of the fence. Lower bet requirements mean for a similar cost you can get a higher bet multiplier, on games where the payouts were more balanced between line hits and bonuses.
If you give that a go, but ultimately find games like that less exciting, the slot makers may have a point into player preference – line hits sound good, but many find games structured like that less fun, and therefore play them less often.
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